Commentary

A recent guest opinion in the Arizona Capitol Times said: “The government shouldn’t pick winners and losers when it comes to military contractors; the marketplace should.” I could not agree more. However, I must disagree with the author’s statement about Congress being a champion for competition in the case of the Joint Strike Fighter (F-35). In fact, it has been just the opposite.

Massive cuts to the publicly funded behavioral health system should be a wake- up call for all Arizonians but especially for our Republican leadership whose decisions will lead to massive suffering for those with a mental illness.

KidsCare offers affordable health insurance for children in working families. It has been an Arizona success story for more than 10 years, helping thousands of children grow up healthy and strong. But a year ago, Gov. Jan Brewer and our legislative leaders began cutting KidsCare.

Late last June, the lack of a state budget produced the very real possibility that on July 1, the Windsor Beach unit of Lake Havasu State Park would not open. This situation worried citizens and business owners in Lake Havasu City, because July 4 is one of the busiest times of the summer boating season and Windsor Beach provides primary boating access to Lake Havasu and the Colorado River.